I'm new to Buddhism and have to admit I know very little about the more complicated aspects of it.Anyway,I want to make a small Buddhist altar and place a Buddha or Bodhisattva statue there.However,should I only use Buddha or Bodhisattvas that are in the Zen sect?I believe that all sects of Buddhism lead to enlightenment(if they follow the core teachings of Buddhism like the Noble Eightfold Path and Not-Self.)and believe in respecting and revering all Buddhas and Bodhisattva regardless of their sect,school,etc.However,I do not wish to offend them.Should I only use a Zen statue?

A person once asked me why I would want to stop rebirth. "It sounds pretty cool. Being able to come back. Who wouldn't want to be reborn."I replied. "Wanting to be reborn is like wanting to stay in a jail cell, when you have the chance to go free and experience the whole wide world. Does a convict, on being freed from his shabby, constricting, little cell, suddenly say "I really want to go back to jail and be put in a cell. It sounds pretty cool. Being able to come back. Who wouldn't want that?"

Red Faced Buddha wrote:.Anyway,I want to make a small Buddhist altar and place a Buddha or Bodhisattva statue there.However,should I only use Buddha or Bodhisattvas that are in the Zen sect? ... Should I only use a Zen statue?

No. Whatever style of Buddha or Bodhisattva inspires you or attracts you.

I had a nun over for lunch one day and I was fretting over my Amitabha stone Buddha, which did not fit well with my sect. I mentioned that i was worried about having the wrong Buddha. The nun laughed and said

catmoon wrote:I had a nun over for lunch one day and I was fretting over my Amitabha stone Buddha, which did not fit well with my sect. I mentioned that i was worried about having the wrong Buddha. The nun laughed and said

"Wrong buddha? WRONG BUDDHA? How can you have a wrong Buddha??"

Hehe that's funny! You have to admit, though. The idea of a sectarian Buddha is quite silly!

A person once asked me why I would want to stop rebirth. "It sounds pretty cool. Being able to come back. Who wouldn't want to be reborn."I replied. "Wanting to be reborn is like wanting to stay in a jail cell, when you have the chance to go free and experience the whole wide world. Does a convict, on being freed from his shabby, constricting, little cell, suddenly say "I really want to go back to jail and be put in a cell. It sounds pretty cool. Being able to come back. Who wouldn't want that?"